BEIRUT — The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):
11:05 a.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says American troops have started withdrawing from positions in northern Syria.
Erdogan spoke on Monday, hours after the White House said that U.S. forces in northeast Syria will move aside and clear the way for an expected Turkish incursion. The announcement cast uncertainty on the fate of the Kurdish fighters allied with the U.S. against against the Islamic State group.
Turkey has threatened for months to launch a military operation to drive away Syrian Kurdish fighters from a border region east of the Euphrates River.
Erdogan didn’t elaborate on the planned Turkish incursion but said Turkey was determined to halt what it perceives as threats from the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
Erdogan also said he planned to travel to Washington next month to meet with President Donald Trump.
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9:40 a.m.
U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces in Syria say American troops have begun withdrawing from areas along Turkey’s border.
This comes hours after the White House said U.S. forces in northeastern Syria will move aside and clear the way for an expected Turkish assault — essentially abandoning Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American forces in the yearslong battle to defeat the Islamic State group.
The Syrian Democratic Forces say the move comes as Turkey is preparing to attack Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria.
The statement warns the Turkish invasion would be a blow to the fight against IS militants.
The Kurdish Hawar news agency and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also say American troops were evacuating positions near the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad on Monday.
The Associated Press
